Comparison of multigrid methods for neutral and stably stratified flows over two-dimensional obstacles (Q1286947)

Coupled and decoupled methods for solving the Navier-Stokes equations are compared as underlying smoothers for a multigrid algorithm. Numerical results for the benchmark problem of lid-driven cavity confirm that residual reduction factors per multigrid cycle for the coupled method are superior to those of the decoupled method. We show that the line-wise implementation of the coupled method is more efficient than the cell-wise while retaining good convergence rates, and is the fastest method for this problem. Both approaches are applied to the problem of homogeneous and inhomogeneous viscous flows past obstables (a vertical barrier and a cosine-shaped bump).